This invention relates generally to grass trimmers of the type employing a plastic or the like cord as a grass cutting element and more particularly to a shield for such trimmers to prevent the slowing of the rotating member to which the cutting element is attached because of friction caused by depressing the member into the ground during operation of the trimmer.
Many prior art grass trimmers using either a metal balde or a plastic cord or the like member as a grass cutting element employ some type of guard or "skid" beneath the cutting element to permit the trimmer to be moved along the ground thereon, or, in the case of a metal blade, to prevent engagement of the operator's feet by the cutting element and/or to prevent scalping of the lawn or grass because of pressing the blade too deeply thereinto. Examples of such guards or skids are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,959,879; 3,886,716; 3,858,383; 3,664,102; 3,221,481; 2,793,485; 2,597,774; and 2,485,963.
For the most part, the guards or skids illustrated in the aforementioned patents are secured to the motor housing of the grass trimmers and are not designed for easy release and reattachment in the event grass trimmings, etc. become lodged between the guard or "skid" and the base of the trimmer housing. The latter becomes important, especially in the case of battery powered trimmers using plastic cutting elements wherein drag on the motor driving the rotating member to which the cutting element is attached can damage the motor or render the trimmer ineffective and wherein the cutting element must be easily accessible for replacement thereof.